JSW Steel Increases Long Product Output

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): India's private-sector JSW Steel is raising output of long steel products to help meet a surge in demand from state-funded infrastructure projects.

The company's long product sales increased by 16pc to 3.55mn t in the 2017-18 financial year that ended 31 March from 3.06mn t in 2016-17.

JSW Steel previously struggled to lift long product sales because of slow demand from the infrastructure sector. But sales picked up in 2017-18 on stronger demand from metro rail, airport and highway projects. The fastest-growing long product category was thermo-mechanically treated (TMT) bars, which posted 17pc growth in sales.

The company expects its entire 5mn t/yr long product capacity to be fully used soon thanks to accelerating infrastructure growth. JSW Steel is also adding 1mn t/yr of wire rod capacity at its flagship Vijayanagar plant in south India.

The company is awaiting bankruptcy court approval for its acquisition of the 1.5mn t/yr Monnet Ispat steel plant, which it bought through a court-mandated auction process for severely indebted companies. It is unclear when the acquisition will be completed. JSW expects to increase its TMT supply by 500,000 t/yr within 3-4 months of the deal being approved.

Indian steel demand is likely to rise by 7-8pc this year, driven by infrastructure and automobile sector growth.

JSW Steel is expanding crude steel capacity at its two Indian plants, Vijayanagar and Dolvi, to a total of 24.7mn t/yr by 2020 from 18mn t/yr now. Most of the extra capacity will be used for flat steel production, which remains the mainstay of JSW's business.

JSW Steel's total flat steel sales increased by 2pc year on year in 2017-18 to 11.17mn t, with sales to domestic automobile companies increasing by 11pc in the period.

Courtesy: www.argusmedia.com